man thinking

We've asked you a number of questions, and given you some specific tasks in this short introductory lesson. DigCompEdu itself is an example of a reflective practice and so we hope that you can see that responding to these questions, and writing them into a learning journal, is a key piece of the groundwork that is necessary for effective action. We recognise, though, that you are busy and that completing the checklist and profile probably took you a bit of time, so thank you for doing that!

Below we copy some of the questions we asked in the lesson (in case you haven't yet had a chance to complete them) and a couple of overall thoughts to leave you with for now.

1. Was the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu) something with which you were already familiar? If so, how had you come across it before?

2. Looking at the proficiency levels and the list of areas covered by DigCompEdu, what level would you say you were at in general terms with technologies for education? It probably varies depending on the area, but overall how comfortable are you with technology? What do you know of the skills and competence levels of the members of your team?

3. We listed a lot of different educational/pedagogic ideas in this lesson, but this is to let you know about some of the work that has been done at a conceptual, or theoretical level, which has direct implications for practice. How many of these ideas were you already familiar with?

4. Can you recognise what might be the particular ways of thinking and practising in your own academic discipline? What are the typical approaches to teaching, or the expectations that your discipline would have with regards the best way to support student learning?

5. Is there any formal professional development for you or your colleagues in the area of teaching and learning either generally or within your subject discipline? What opportunities are there, in your institution, for academic staff to obtain training and professional development in teaching? Is this primarily aimed at new/early career staff, or is it genuinely 'continuous' professional development throughout the career trajectory? Are you already a participant in online CPD activities or networks?

6. Have you completed the Contextual Checklist? Did you have to ask others, or search around for some of the answers (if so, that would be normal in a university!)

7. What does your overall DigCompEdu profile look like? What areas can you identify as needing more development or training?

8. We've covered a lot of ground here, in this 'scene-setting' lesson , but it will put you in a great position to develop strategy and future actions. Write down any other thoughts and ideas based on what you have read here and focus on what might be practicable.

Image credit: Guido Coppa, Unsplash.com